Thursday, July 4, 2013

Outrageous Agenda of Kolkata Group: Placating Strategies


From: "Will Chaucey" <wchaucey@tech-net...>
To: ananda-marga-discourses-1@yogasamsthanam.net
Subject: Outrageous Agenda of Calcutta Group: Placating Strategies
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2013 13:48:17

Baba
Outrageous Agenda of Kolkata Group:

Placating Strategies


Namaskar All,



Kolkata Publications Member:

Planned Website for Reporting Discourse Errors

A prominent Kolkata group Publications Member (1) has written:

"You have valid point about the sanctity of the books .. who can disagree on that and errors must be corrected. All you need to do is to point out the error and let me further tell you there are more errors in the books, and there will be even more new errors in the books. We are all humans and we should work together to expediently remove errors from the books.  We are currently working on the web site that will publish all the known errors and readers will be able to tell publication department the errors they find so that they can be corrected."
Kolkata Website A Farce

On the one hand Kolkata Publishing Department is extending invitation to Margiis to point out the errors in the books, and on the other hand the error that has been pointed out i.e. the "traitor group" deletion, they refuse to fix. So in this setting what is the meaning of their invitation? They invite Margiis to point out the errors, but refuse to fix them when pointed out. So it is looking like some meaningless sort of invitation.

What good is the website Kolkata Publishing Department is planning, when they are not willing to take action on the errors which are pointed out? It is like some technique of placation to "appease the masses"; to make it look like something is happening when in reality nothing is going to be done.


Just Like New York Sector Grievance Committee

Falsely Assuages Margiis

Some similar examples come to mind--

In New York Sector, there is one brother Vishvadeva who has been on the Sectorial board for many years, and is a psychologist by profession. Psychologists know how to listen to others' problems and make them feel their issues have been heard. In the end, they give some advice and the patient pays a fee and goes home. And such psychologists' sessions many times go on for years and years, with the patient paying a significant sum for all the "treatment". In a similar way, brother Vishvadeva is expert at conducting sessions at the Sectorial retreats to hear the grievances of Margiis. The outcome is that Margiis feel their concerns have been "heard". But does anything ever come of these meetings in terms of concrete action by which the matters raised get resolved? It is a strategy of placation: Hear the woes to assuage their minds, with meanwhile no intention to do anything concrete. The plan is just to maintain one's post, and keep the status quo.


Political Parties'

Empty Compaign Promises

During election campaigns, political parties carry out similar activities. making grand promises to the electorate that, "If elected, we will fix your roads and buildings, lower your taxes, and make your life better in all ways." Such promises are made not out of a desire to help the people, but to get their votes. The politicians do not intend to fulfill their promises, and if elected they don't fulfill them. The campaign promises are merely a ploy to get common people to vote for them.

These examples show us that there are typical strategies utilized by those in power to maintain their power. The common people are the losers, the exploited group, in all cases.


Kolkata Group Refuses to Fix Traitor Group Distortion

Dada Sarvatmanada ji is looking like another example of the same, as is Kirit ji his representative. They plan to make a website for margis to express their grievances, point out all the mistakes in the books. But there is no intention to do anything about those mistakes. Just see when it is pointed out that the "traitor group" example has been omitted from the discourse "The Lords Feet", then Kolkata Publishing Dept refuses to fix it.


Lack of Results Exposes Empty Plans

Brother Vishvadeva has been carrying on the same campaigns for fifteen years to "listen to the Margiis", but where are the reviews and reports as to what he has done. Prompt reports are needed, otherwise grievance sessions become meaningless. Similarly, political parties never fulfill their campaign promises, and they should be held accountable for this.

For so many years, distortions have been getting regularly pointed out to Kolkata group Publications, but hardly a one has been fixed. There could be an errata page made even within three months, and added to all the books being sold. But it is never done. There should be a mandate for giving a report in three months as to what Kolkata Publications has done about the printing distortions which are raised. In the absence of that, pardon me but their planned website is just like some cheating psychology to assuage the masses.

When a plan is announced to initiate some work-- whether concerning the society at large or Ananda Margis-- there must be clear proof of concrete work done in result. The presence of results proves the plan's sincerity; their absence exposes it's false intentions. Plans having a history of insincerity behind them, can only harm the society. Kolkata group's planned website is a typical example. When a website is created for reporting discourse distortion and no action is taken to fix the distortions, then the organizers are blocking the pathway to make Baba's discourses proper.

Namaskar,
Vinay

(1) It is well known that Kirit ji is a very active member of the Kolkata group Publications Department, and works closely with Dadaji Sarvatmananda. Margii sister Surabhi Mukherji, herself from West Bengal, has written the below when Kirit ji expressed that "As  publishers, we have to maintain a balance...". Surabhi ji wrote:

"When you have written "as publishers, we..." then it is clear you are not the person fully responsible for the policy stated here. Because the "we the publishers" means the publications department, & in particular Publications Dept (B). And the head of the Publications Department (B) is Ac. Sarvatmananda Avt. We margis have seen through time that what you have written here is indeed the policy of AMPS (B) publications department and so Kiritji I have full sympathy for you, you are merely expressing the policy which you have been instructed to give."

(2) Ranchi Group's Negligent Publishing Practices

Kolkata group does all the publishing of Ananda Marga books today, and as such is responsible for the distortions they publish. Because of that Margiis have been writing in expressing their concern and even outrage over Kolkata group's irresponsible publishing practices. Some Margiis get confused because of this, thinking that there is a "bias" in this network against Kolkata group.

But that is not at all the case. Margiis have also written letters about the irresponsible publishing practices of H group. Please see the below excerpt I found from one of the moderators of the network, bro. Ciranútana:

"H/EC group acquired B group's distortion-ridden printed discourses, and took credit for the discourses by reprinting them in their own name...Of note, the current H group Publications Secretary Ác. Mŕtyuinjayánanda Ávt., has not done anything to change this status quo. The books continue to be taken from B group and reprinted point blank, with no editing or proof checking involved. And the 2004 Edition of this Hindi discourse continues to be sold today with the same critical error. If Ác. Mŕtyuinjayánanda Ávt had read the discourse, he could have immediately detected the nonsensical paragraph and created an errata page for the book. But that has not been done."

"We cannot assume to know why Ác. Mŕtyuinjayánanda Ávt behaves the way he does; only he knows the reason. Nonetheless, the result of his work is in view for all to see."

"Nothing is ever changed or fixed; the books he receives from B group he turns around and sends to a printing company for printing, with his name as AMPS Publisher. From longstanding habits such as these it does not seem unfair to conclude that our H group AMPS publications department is verily and unfortunately located in the plastic bag where Ác. Mŕtyuinjayánanda Ávt holds the B group books to bring to the printing company."

"It should be added that the Ánanda Vacanámrtam series is the easiest to read and most popular, and Hindi is the most common language version read and purchased, of all our AMPS publications. Even then as popular and in demand as this series is, still the Hindi edition of this discourse in Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part Three, with its distorted nonsensical paragraph, remains unchanged after all these years both in the B group and H/EC group publications."

Note: To read the full posting about H group's dealings in this matter, on the Network's blog, please click here.